and I asked for a source for this info and Jenny wrote back: > My source for the info about the CPD cars being actual Chicago squads > is the Chicago Police Dept and CPD sergeant Greg Reynolds! I asked the > Chicago Pd if actual squad cars were used the making of the movie. I > was told that the movie company inquired the city about purchasing > some of the units that were up for retirement. I heard they paid > $500-$700 a car and according to Greg "The film company bought 100 > real CPD cars that had just been taken out of service that would > normally have been sold to wholesalers" Read more: bluesmobiles.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=owners&action=display&thread=882#ixzz25zpgclW1
I've found that a lot of people make strong claims about the movie and the cars, but people's memory fades over time, and some people heard something from somebody, etc. Greg's story is a piece of evidence, but I wouldn't take it as a guarantee. It would seem odd to me that they bought exactly 100 cars.
> I knew prior to asking that they were real deal because they are way > way to accurate to be movie cars!
And I've been told by folks that "this must be an original X, because it looks exactly like what looked like", and then I point out a difference, and they say they never noticed that. Similarly, the CPD cars don't look particularly accurate to me.
We have some with stripes down the whole body, and some with stripes on the door and quarter, but not on the fender. And some on the fender, but not on the quarter. And some with Royal Monaco emblems, and some without.
And if they had 100 ex-police cars, why wouldn't they actually use them for the blumo with the closeup interior shots instead of taking pics of civilian door panels. It just seems unlikely, to me. I'm not writing this to beat anyone up, I'm just trying to collect what we know, as all the pieces of evidence help us get to the truth. Maybe someone has a bill of sale from the CPD to the movie company.
your friend in armchair CPD originating discussing, arthur
Last Edit: Mar 31, 2014 14:35:00 GMT -5 by Steam McQueen
and TK826 said that this pic: > is a shot of the first prototype car used to test out what would become > the new color scheme. > The colors were changed to Red White and Blue in preparation for the > upcoming US bicentennial in '76.
So I'm guessing the only 1974 Monaco painted that way by the CPD was the prototype.
Last Edit: Mar 31, 2014 14:35:27 GMT -5 by Steam McQueen
Post by JennyBlues on Sept 9, 2012 16:33:22 GMT -5
And I've been told by folks that "this must be an original X, because it looks exactly like what looked like", and then I point out a difference, and they say they never noticed that. Similarly, the CPD cars don't look particularly accurate to me.
We have some with stripes down the whole body, and some with stripes on the door and quarter, but not on the fender. And some on the fender, but not on the quarter. And some with Royal Monaco emblems, and some without.
I pride myself as a police car fanatic, and I must say they are accurate! I must also point out that the two cars you are using for the debate are two different makes and models! one is a Chevy and one is a Dodge! Its called body lines! body lines make a big difference in decal placement. sometimes a decal has to be placed lower or higher or in a completely different position to fit on the car, that includes stripes. (check out Chicago 94-96 chevy Caprices) Oh and the decal shop, it actually depends who is working that particular day! I have taken many squads to be restripped and they are not always stripped the same. Emblems, well they fall off and departments don't replace emblems its a waste of tax money because they don't serve a purpose on that particular piece of equipment. Also decal shops remove emblems if they are in the way. Movie police cars are always incorrect with decals and lightbars, movie copcars seldom have the same/correct lightbar on all the cars. Plus there are so many tiny details in the Chicago cars that the movie company would not care about or waste their time with for accuracy such as correct lightbars, the Beat tag/ beat tag holder, license plate placement,antennas or no antennas, etc.. The general population just sees a police car with flashing lights, they don't care if its got a Mars bar or a Twin Beacon Ray, it has lights and that makes it a police car.
I've found that a lot of people make strong claims about the movie and the cars, but people's memory fades over time, and some people heard something from somebody, etc. Greg's story is a piece of evidence, but I wouldn't take it as a guarantee. It would seem odd to me that they bought exactly 100 cars.
I also agree with memory fades and I also don't believe it was an exact 100 purchased, but it could have been close to 100 or just about. I believe Greg is a good source, he does work for Chicago PD and is a police car fanatic.
And if they had 100 ex-police cars, why wouldn't they actually use them for the blumo with the closeup interior shots instead of taking pics of civilian door panels. It just seems unlikely, to me. I'm not writing this to beat anyone up, I'm just trying to collect what we know, as all the pieces of evidence help us get to the truth. Maybe someone has a bill of sale from the CPD to the movie company.
your friend in armchair CPD originating discussing, arthur
Honestly, because in reality only people like you or me care about the door panels being correct! The movie company and the general public doesn't care about those details! To them its just a car, all they care about is that its the right color door panel!(sometimes even that is not a big deal) I believe they only purchased The actual Chicago cars out of convenience due to they were going to be shooting the movie there. It was much cheaper than shipping out so many squads from California. I also believe they didn't use them for interior shots because Chicago Pd cars had blue, black or green interiors and not tan. Some Tactical(unmarked cars) had tan interiors, so I woulnt'd doubt if a few marked showed up with tan as well.
and TK826 said that this pic: > is a shot of the first prototype car used to test out what would become > the new color scheme. > The colors were changed to Red White and Blue in preparation for the > upcoming US bicentennial in '76.
So I'm guessing the only 1974 Monaco painted that way by the CPD was the prototype.
The prototype was delivered from factory painted white with the blue stripe. it was not the only prototype, a 1974 Chevy Belair was used as well (photo taken at same location)! when the prototype decals where accepted by command staff, The end of the year cars purchased for 1974 were all ordered in white with the new decals. so there is a mix of blue/white and white/blue strip cars for 1974. Photo credit: Greg Reynolds Copcar.com
Last Edit: Mar 31, 2014 14:37:33 GMT -5 by Steam McQueen
I see that there is no "we serve" writing on rear doors and blue over-spray on the stripe.
My guess is that if they bought any CPD cars it was only a handful and that the majority of all cars in the film, be it Chicago police, or Bluesmobile ,were civilian cars dressed in the appropriate colors.
Last Edit: Mar 31, 2014 14:38:09 GMT -5 by Steam McQueen
I see that there is no "we serve" writing on rear doors and blue over-spray on the stripe.
My guess is that if they bought any CPD cars it was only a handful and that the majority of all cars in the film, be it Chicago police, or Bluesmobile ,were civilian cars dressed in the appropriate colors.
good eye Tk, (the prototypes don't have it either!) But again, the decal shops forget to place decals on too.This is real life nothings perfect. I could show you several pictures of my local police and sheriffs department cars that are also missing the "To protect and serve" or other minor decals. All the blue stripes where painted on back then, they were not decals, so overspray is common. You also have to remeber that the city sees them as a piece of equipment not a show car, it doesnt have to be perfect! I know they where shipped to the department with the blue strip, but any repair work after a wreck would have had to be painted by the city I am not saying they came perfect with no overspary from Dodge, but you get what I mean. Could also be a simple rear door replacement by fleet services as well where they just painted on the blue strip, again nobody really notices these mistakes but fanatics like us. I can also show you lots of overspray on my departments cars. So I will stick to my belief that they are actual Chicago units, to me all these minor mistakes make it more obvious to me, The movie company would have major mistakes.
Last Edit: Sept 9, 2012 19:26:19 GMT -5 by JennyBlues
So you can believe Greg's memory, or you can believe my picture that shows the opposite:
We're all on the same side, and your position that the CPD cars were original is tenable; it's just not persuasive enough for me. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence" So without extraordinary evidence, I fall back to something like TK826 suggested:
Here is a clip from the "Making Of.." video with John Landis mentioning some numbers.
It's interesting to see, but what it doesn't explain is... (1) Whether he is just mentioning random numbers to express his point for the interview, or if they are in fact actual. (2) If he is talking about purchased cars or those dressed and ready for filming.
My feeling is that he is mentioning random numbers, off the top of his head, and is referring to cars that are dressed and ready. (but who knows)
It would be nice to see the whole interview that this was taken from. The "Making Of..." video quickly cuts to someone else, just after the above clip.
It's interesting to see, but what it doesn't explain is... (1) Whether he is just mentioning random numbers to express his point for the interview, or if they are in fact actual. (2) If he is talking about purchased cars or those dressed and ready for filming.
My feeling is that he is mentioning random numbers, off the top of his head, and is referring to cars that are dressed and ready. (but who knows) .
Good find.
> My feeling is that he is ... referring to cars that are dressed and > ready.
That would be my guess.
> My feeling is that he is mentioning random numbers, off the top > of his head...
My first thought would be real numbers. But it doesn't sound right that there would be 50% more ISPs than CPDs. So my second thought would be the same as yours.
I see his quote here: wordpress.sbtinfo.com/2010/12/03/thrill-of-the-chase/ > This film had not one but two great chases — the first through a > shopping mall, the second through the streets of downtown > Chicago. The latter chase had to be one of the most massive in > film history. Director John Landis once listed specifics: “60 ISP’s > (Illinois State Police cars), 42 Chicago city cop cars, 17 > ambulances …
Post by JennyBlues on Sept 9, 2012 21:05:16 GMT -5
I believe he is a good resource. But he still makes mistakes:
I am sure he makes mistakes as we all do, we are only human. But a few mistakes doesn't make him a fool or discredits him. We have all been proven wrong before in our lives at least once or twice. We just learn and move on! He could be right! I mean I make mistakes too I claimed there was 74's in there and you proved me wrong with the blueray image,But I was still right about 75's.
We're all on the same side, and your position that the CPD cars were original is tenable; it's just not persuasive enough for me. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence" So without extraordinary evidence, I fall back to something like TK826 suggested:
I am not saying you or TK is wrong, you may be correct, but based on my personal police car knowledge I will continue to believe that they are real Retired CPD units,until i get some proof they are not! There is no way the movie company would have had that many correct Mars lightbars with the Chicago Police shop made beat tag holders, to place on all the cars. The Mayor handed the movie company the key to the city and let them run a muck! I dont see how expendable used police cars would not fall into it. I have not seen one movie yet, other than this one where the police cars are all uniformed and correct! With correct decals and period correct equipment. Not many Police agencys ran the Mars Lightbar they were not that popular and too expensive, not to mention they were outdated, even when new in their hayday, When compared to Federal Signal products such as the Twinsonic. so they wouldnt be that easy to find used! We could say they purchased them new but they are obviously aged with the cars. I guess they could have just purchased Chicagos used lightbars, but again the cars are just too accurate to me.
anyways these are my 2 cents! I guess we will both just have to wait for that extraordinary evidence!
Last Edit: Sept 9, 2012 21:46:53 GMT -5 by JennyBlues
